The Best Laid Plans
by Paleonut
Summary: A little something I'd like to think happened after the events of 8.23. Not slash.


~: The Best Laid Plans :~

~:-:~

Characters [Gen]: Sam, Cas, and a slice of Dean

Rating: T (Probably being paranoid here)

Any warnings: Set post-Sacrifice, so spoilers through 8.23... Any similarities to season 9 however are pure good luck on my part.

This is my first fanfic, written for the 2013 SPN Spring Fling exchange over at Live Journal... The anonymity period is over, so I'm free to share! Please feel free to explore all of the wonderful stories in the exchange at: .com (slash) #t2111735

Disclaimer: Sam & Dean are owned by the good folks over at the CW & WB... but don't tell Dean I said so... he's rather insistant on free will, after all.

~:-:~

Sam had almost forgotten what "good" felt like. He wasn't there yet, but to his amazement, he soon would be. It was hard to believe that only three weeks ago, he was literally seconds away from death. The trials had taken a huge toll on both his body and spirit, and on Dean. Dean had taken care of Sam, not only through the trials, but after as well. Today was a milestone. After much persuading, and (utter misuse, if you ask Dean) of the puppy-dog-eyes, Dean was taking the afternoon off for some much needed, one-on-one, quality time with the Impala. Making this the first time since they returned home that Sam would be alone in the Bat-Cave.

_Well, __**alone**__ as only Dean could define it! _Sam thought with a grin as he slowly made his way to the kitchen for a snack, _We might as well be running a hotel! Kevin and Cas should be around here somewhere... Hopefully Kevin's getting some sleep, he's been looking as sleep deprived as I feel... and I think Dean said Crowley's in the dungeon, but even __**I**__ wouldn't count __**him**__ as company..._

Cas had appeared on their doorstep about two weeks ago, according to Dean, (since Sam was rather out of it at the time), and now spent most of his time attempting to adjust to his new humanity... apparently by asking Kevin numerous (and often quite random) questions at all hours of the day and night, likely explaining both Kevin's fatigue, **and** lack of progress translating the Angel Tablet. It appeared that even Cas knew better than to interrupt Dean when he was mother-henning a sick Sammy!

Sam was exhausted, despite spending most of his time sleeping, and it was taking him quite a bit longer than usual to traverse the corridors of the bunker, but he was loving every minute of his first solo excursion since abandoning the trials. It was exhilarating to be able to walk without worrying about turning his lungs inside out... He hadn't meant the trials to be a suicide mission when he started them, in fact, he undertook them to ensure the brothers reached their happy ending together. But the writing had been on the wall for months, and he'd truly believed he would never be able to do this again. It scared him to think of how close he'd come to doing the one thing he had sworn to himself he'd never do: leaving his brother alone. Constant pain had warped his perception, and he'd been ready to give in, thankfully, Dean arrived in time to save them both. This was their second (Third? Fourth?) chance, and Sam meant to make the most of it!

As Sam thought a brief prayer of thanks (to whom exactly, he wasn't sure, but definitely not Heaven & Metatron) for getting to spend another day with his brother, he heard a very unusual noise coming from just up the hall... in the direction of the kitchen... _I guess Dean hasn't left yet_ Sam thought as he rounded the corner... to a most unexpected sight...

White... the kitchen was **white**... Which was totally wrong since the last he'd checked it was army-surplus grey...definitely **not** white. It was a disaster area... every inch coated in a mixture of flour, sugar and what looked like... lime jello? _Ooookay... so __**not**__ Dean..._ So overwhelming was the mess that it took Sam a moment to realize that there was a figure standing very still in the exact center of the room... of course, the fact that the figure was also completely coated in flour and therefore camouflaged didn't help at all... "Cas?! What on earth happened in here?" Looking around Sam noted that every cooking utensil they had (and quite a few he didn't know they had until this moment) were scattered across the counters, sink and floor... Cas looked at Sam with his own version of the puppy-dog-eyes and said "I am endeavoring to make pie... I wish to give Dean pie, and as my previous attempt to 'purchase' a pie upset the balance on a cosmic scale, I must find a different method to acquire one... This was not as easy as Cooking With the Stars suggested... " Sam was both touched and amused, he knew what it was like to want to apologize to Dean, but... "Dean is not going to be happy to see this" Sam said _Understatement of the year..._

Upon hearing this, Cas managed to look even more dejected, so Sam forced down his laughter and said "It's okay, it's not your fault, pies are evil." To which Cas cocked his head to the side and replied "I did not know that pastries had a moral compass, let alone a predilection towards evil."

"No Cas, I didn't mean that pies were actually evil, it's just a colloquialism."

"Why would you say such a thing? Is that not considered slander towards the pies... I would think it would make Dean very upset to hear you say that."

_Oh shoot me now!_ "Never-mind Cas, let's just get this cleaned up, and then I'll show you how to bake a pie... if we hurry we can get it done before Dean gets back." _And blows a fuse... or twenty..._

Together Sam and a slightly baffled Cas cleaned up the kitchen... Or more accurately, Sam taught Cas how to clean up a kitchen... "No, that's not how you use a broom... and that's a dustpan... no, it's not for baking dust... here, let me show you." _This is going to be a __**long**__ clean up..._ thought Sam, _Dean hasn't even been gone for an hour, how did he manage to make such a mess... and I don't __**even**__ want to know why there's half a carton of eggs, complete with shells, in the blender... but I'll have to find the lid, or Dean'll kill me, he just bought that..._ So after lessons in mop use, dish washing, counter scrubbing, fixative cabinetry, and oven cleaning ( "Seriously Cas, jello should never, ever go in the oven" "But I wanted it to stop jiggling") the kitchen was finally clean, and the real baking could commence.

"Okay Cas, here's how you make a pie" Sam found that he was enjoying teaching Cas the fine arts of pie making, and aside from a few questions from left field ("Sam, why do some recipes call for beating of eggs... are they evil?""It's a descriptive phrase, none of the food is, or ever was evil""No Cas, extra virgin olive oil does not contain virgins""I do not understand these 'descriptive phrases' of which you speak") Cas turned out to be a very attentive student.

"How do you know what ingredients to use? This is not how Cooking With the Stars made pie." Cas asked at one point.

"I learned the recipe from Jess... It had been passed down through her family... I'd always wanted to share it with Dean, but after loosing her, it was just too painful... After everything, it just seemed like the right time..."

Before long, Sam and Cas had the pie in the oven... "You better go take a shower Cas, or Dean'll know we made a mess in the kitchen, and believe me, we don't want him to know." _I'm going to be in trouble for being out of bed as it is... No need to get in any more trouble than necessary..._

Cas paused as he was about to exit the room and said gravely "Thank you, Sam"

"You're welcome Cas, and thank you..." _I've been wanting to do something for Dean, and I don't think I would've ever shared that recipe otherwise..._ Sam replied, and when Cas just nodded, Sam had to wonder if Cas didn't have just a bit of angel mojo left...

~:-:~

An hour later, Sam was just pulling the pie out of the oven when Dean opened the door to the bunker "Honey, I'm home!"

"In here" Sam called grinning, knowing that if he didn't respond, Dean would be searching the place in nothing flat _And he says he's not a mother hen..._ "How was your 'alone time'?"

"Awww, Sammy, I'll let Baby know you care." Dean said with a big grin... which got bigger as he asked "Is that pie I smell, apple pie?"

"Can't fool you" Sam replied still smiling.

"Sam and I have made you this pie" Cas chimed in as Sam set the pie down on the table and they all gathered around.

"You made it? Together? You better not have messed up my kitchen... " Dean threatened.

Sam and Cas assured Dean that they had not made a mess of the kitchen. Then Sam went and got some ice cream and plates, and the three of them spent the next hour enjoying each other's company (Sam shared that it was Jess's family recipe) and what was a truly excellent pie ("Wow, Sammy, if I'd known you could bake pie like this, I'd make you cook more often").

As Dean got up and took the rest of the pie to the kitchen to be saved for later ("Gotta do it right, a great pie deserves the best care") Sam and Cas looked at each other and smiled... mission accomplished, Dean was happy, and he'd never...

"Hey, Betty Crockers! Is that... **egg** on the ceiling?"

In unison, Sam and Cas look at each other, look towards the kitchen... "Ooops!"

~:-:~

There it is! I hope you enjoyed my first-ever fanfic... For fun, here's the prompt that I used: Sam & Cas (gen) and "It's not your fault"


End file.
